Jesus’s Baptism and Genesis

Mark 1:9–11 (NAS): 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Water, Spirit, Dove, and an announcement of God’s pleasure.

Genesis 1:2 (NAS): The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:31 (NAS): God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

The same elements are here: water, Spirit, the image of a bird hovering, and God’s deceleration that it is good.

Mark and other New Testament writers undoubtedly had this passage in mind when they spoke of Jesus’s baptism.

Just as God stepped into that which was formless, void, and chaotic to form the world and give it order, Jesus took on flesh to create a new heavens and earth from the inside out.

The imagery used to describe Jesus’s baptism tells us that He intended to make a new creation through His ministry, death, and resurrection